One Wish, Thirteen More Hours
by Warrior orb5
Summary: Sarah is a college freshman who has a small crush on her childhood villain. Her friend makes a wish without knowing the danger and Sarah is taken back to the Labyrinth by a certain Goblin King. The rating may go up in later chapters. Jareth x Sarah
1. The Wish

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or any of its characters, I mean, it's called fanfiction for a reason.

A/N: This was just a silly little drabble about Sarah when she is 18 and a freshman in college. Then I realized I just wrote the intro to a multi chapter fic.

* * *

"Come on Sarah!" her friend asked while pouting.

Having had this exact same conversation with her friend before Sarah knew that she would give up eventually. She prayed it would be sooner than later. She hated talking about things like this.

'That's what you get for having a stupid schoolgirl's crush on the Goblin King,' Sarah pointed out to herself bitterly.

"Is it Kevin?" her friend asked with a goofy grin.

Sarah sighed, "I keep telling you I don't have a crush on any of the guys from our school."

Her friend giggled and asked, "So he's not from our school?"

Sarah shook her head in an exaggerated display of exasperation then flopped down onto her bed. After becoming friends two years ago Sarah had realized early on that Mary was much more interested in boys than she was but it barely ever caused a problem. The exception was that every few months or so Mary would get it in her head that the only reason Sarah didn't have a boyfriend was because she had a crush on an upperclassmen or someone else 'out of her league'. Mary had made it her personal mission to find out who that mystery boy is.

"That's not a no," she told Sarah in a sing-song voice.

Sarah smiled teasingly, "It wasn't a yes either."

Mary thought for a moment and then looked at Sarah with a fairly serious expression, "Please tell me it isn't James."

"It's not James," Sarah reassured her friend.

"Well that's good for two reasons then," Mary told her with a victorious smirk.

Sarah raised one eyebrow in question.

"The first reason is that you don't have a crush on a guy that's so snooty that he actually insists everyone call him James," Mary informed Sarah while laughing.

Sarah laughed at that too before asking, "Reason number two?"

"You said 'Its not James' which is practically admitting that it is someone, therefore, you have a secret crush," Mary stated while crossing her arms as if daring Sarah to question her logic.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I bet he's just like one of the guys from the stories you always read," she told her while pulling one of Sarah's books off the shelf to point at the knight on the cover.

Sarah almost burst out laughing but was able to control herself and snarkily replied, "Yeah ok."

Her friend tried to put on a serious face although Sarah could see she was trying not to laugh, "I bet that he's exactly like the heros in all your stupid books and swept you off your feet."

Mary got out of the chair she had been in and dramatically gestured to the window, "I bet you have to sneak out at night to see him because your love is forbidden by your parents."

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at that, "My stepmother would practically push me out the door to get me to go on a date if she thought it would work, besides I live on campus, I'm just here for the weekend, remember?"

"Ok, his parents then," she corrected.

They both laughed a little and Mary sat down next to Sarah on the bed, "But seriously, whoever this guy is that you have some sort of unrequited love thing for, I wish he would just come in and sweep you off your feet, maybe then you'd have someone who will actually help you rehearse all of your plays."

Sarah visible flinched at the use of the phrase "I wish" and Mary stopped smiling.

"Sorry, shouldn't have said that, I know how much it gets on your nerves when people wish for things," Mary apologized.

Sarah forced herself to offer Mary a reassuring smile, "Its fine."

"Probably," Sarah added under her breath.

Mary was about to comment on Sarah's remark when they both heard something tap against the window.

"Is that an owl?" Mary asked in confusion.

Sarah looked at the window and fought the urge to groan in agitation before responding, "Yup."

The window blew open letting the owl fly in and land where it quickly transformed into the Goblin King almost exactly as Sarah remembered him from the first time they met three years before.

"W-who are you?" Mary stuttered.

Jareth looked at Sarah in mock hurt, "You haven't told your friend about me and your little adventure?"

Sarah sighed in resignation, "This is the Goblin King."

Mary looked from one to the other clearly confused but not sure what to ask either of them.

"I believe you wished me here," Jareth helpfully supplied with a grin.

She looked at Sarah, "You and him?"

Sarah blushed lightly but replied indignantly, "It isn't like that, we were . . . adversaries."

"Oh?" Jareth asked, "Then why am I here?"

When Sarah didn't have an immediate answer for that he walked towards her.

"Now then, I have a wish to fulfill," he said as he suddenly picked up Sarah bridal style.

Unprepared for, this she held onto him in fear of falling. When she looked up he was smirking at her.

"Wait what's going on?" Mary asked Jareth.

Jareth smiled cruelly, "Well I'll admit, they weren't the exact words and I don't usually take anything except children but I'm willing to make an exception for the victor of my Labyrinth."

"What do you mean take?" Mary asked warily.

Jareth gestured to where the window was moments ago, "She's there, in my castle."

The teen stared in disbelief at the Labyrinth and then looked back at Jareth who stood, no longer holding Sarah, with his arms crossed looking at her.

"What's going to happen to Sarah?" Mary asked.

Jareth shook his head and replied condescendingly, "Forget about Sarah, go back and gossip about human boys with your friends."

"What about Sarah's family?" she asked in near panic.

Jareth ignored her and made a crystal appear in his hand and smiled, "I've brought you a gift for the assistance you've given me."

She looked at it in question.

"All you have to do is go home," he told her.

Mary shook her head in rejection, "I can't leave Sarah."

"Then you have thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth or Sarah becomes mine forever," Jareth told her while beginning to back away.

Mary took another look at the Labyrinth and took a steadying breath, "I have no choice then."

Jareth had already faded away completely but she still heard a voice from nowhere say, "Such a pity."

* * *

Sarah found herself a throne room filled with goblins and chickens.

"This can't be happening," she told herself while backing towards the wall.

She bumped into something solid and she turned around to be face-to-face with the Goblin King.

"I assure you, this is happening," Jareth told her.

"You have no power over me," she blurted out in desperation.

Jareth smirked, "Actually, you'll find that I do."

Without giving her a chance to protest he continued, "Your friend has wished you away Sarah, in thirteen hours you'll be mine."

Her eyes widened as she realized the full implications of his statement. She suppressed a shiver of fear.

"And I may be making your friend's run a particularly difficult one," Jareth added before laughing.

The goblins around the room noticed their king laughing and started laughing with him. Sarah took a step away. Jareth walked over to the throne and conjured a crystal. The goblins close to him all gathered around to see.

"You're not even interested in how your friend is doing Sarah?" Jareth asked while gesturing for her to look at the crystal.

She scowled in response but walked over to see.

* * *

A/N: So, I'm going to break up every chapter from this point forward by hour. Please leave reviews, tell me what you like and what you hate and maybe some suggestions.


	2. The First Hour

Disclaimer: No, I do not own anything in this story, except Mary unfortunately (for her).

A/N: Quick update right? Well, I had so many people following and reviewing I wanted to make sure that you all weren't disappointed. Also, I'm secretly worried that you'll all forget about me if I don't update fast enough.

* * *

As Mary walked up to the Labyrinth she noticed what looked like fairies flying around near the wall. She hesitantly walked closer to them.

"I wouldn't try to touch those if I were you," someone told her.

She turned around quickly and saw some sort of short creature.

'Is this a dwarf or a goblin or maybe a troll,' Mary wondered to herself while silently regretting not being more interested in fantasy and myths when she had the chance to read about them.

She tried to regain her composure and responded, "I wasn't going to."

The small man-thing laughed and sprayed one of them with some sort of pesticide, "81."

"Um, why are you doing that?" Mary asked hesitantly and taking a step closer.

He began walking forward slowly obviously searching for more fairies so she followed him, unsure of what else to do.

The creature sighed, "All you runners are the same, the last girl who came through thought that fairies granted wishes, can you believe that?"

"I've had enough of wishes for at least a lifetime," Mary remarked under her breath.

He laughed in response, "I'll bet you have."

He continued on in silence for a few minutes occasionally exclaiming the number of fairies he's gotten before finally turning back around.

"Why are you following me?" he asked in suspicion.

She wasn't prepared for this and started stuttering out a reply, "W-well I need to solve this labyrinth but I don't see a door and you're the only person around so I wasn't sure what I was suppose to do."

"You need to find the door, not pester me, you're wasting both of our time," he told her in agitation.

She crossed her arms in front of her as if to hold herself and bit her lip before issuing an apology in an attempt to salvage her chances of getting him to help her, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to bother you but do you know where the door is then."

"Yup," he replied and turned back around to see another fairy which he promptly sprayed, "87."

She waited for him to say or do something else before realizing he wasn't going to.

"Will you show me where it is then?" she asked quickly before hastily adding, "Please."

He turned to face her and pointed behind her, "You get's in there."

She turned and saw a door opening as if on cue. She then decided that it was on cue and that this was probably the first test or at least something like a test. A challenge, she decided in her mind.

"Thanks . . ." she trailed off realizing that she had no idea what his name was.

"Its Hoggle," he supplied.

She nodded, "Ok thanks, Hoggle."

She then turned to enter the labyrinth. She looked down the left and then to the right before walking inside. As soon as she did the door shut behind her. Mary jumped slightly at the noise but continued inside to the right. After walking for around ten minutes she started to get worried about the fact that there were no openings at all. She looked at her wristwatch and saw in shock that she had already wasted an hour after only trying to get inside and then walking in a straight line.

"At least I'm in," she told herself.

* * *

Sarah had smiled when she saw Mary meet Hoggle thinking that he would help Mary solve the labyrinth but nearly slapped herself when she remembered that she hadn't told either of them about the other.

"What's wrong precious?" Jareth asked with a smirk, "Did you think that Hoghead would help you again?"

"His name is Hoggle," Sarah corrected without answering.

After a few tense seconds of staring at each other they both went back to watching Mary through the crystal.

"She isn't running," one of the goblins pointed out needlessly to the rest of the goblins who shook their heads in agreement.

"What do they mean, is she suppose to be running through this part?" Sarah asked Jareth warily, somewhat afraid of the answer.

Jareth turned toward her, "She doesn't have to run but almost all of the ones who make it very far do," he shrugged as he told her and then waited for her to react.

Sarah frowned and looked back at the crystal pointedly refusing to meet his gaze, "Not always though?"

Jareth sneered, "You should give up hope of her solving my Labyrinth Sarah, she isn't going to be able to."

Sarah met his stare and countered, "Well, if I've learned one thing down here its that you can't take things for granted."

Instead of continuing the argument or suspending her headfirst in the bog of eternal stench as she had expected him to he began laughing.

"You finally seem to be learning Sarah," he told her in a way that would almost seem good natured if not for the look he was giving her.

"She's almost to the first turn," one of the goblins chirped excitedly.

Sarah was glad for the distraction, she didn't like the wolfish way that Jareth was staring at her.

* * *

A/N: So there we are, the first hour is up! Tell me what you think or tell me how much you love/hate me or leave a suggestion for the next chapter. As always, criticism is encouraged.

And before I forget, this is just a heads-up but I update _way_ faster when I get reviews. Like, a lot faster.


	3. The Second Hour

Disclaimer: Read the other chapters, I don't own Labyrinth.

A/N: I'm going to try to update every Friday until this fic is done. No promises though, I'm going back to school in Fall so I might take longer with the later chapters when I get bogged down with class work.

Anyway, I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out.

* * *

Mary decided to stop for a moment to try to get a good look at her surroundings. There wasn't that much to look at though. There was just two stone walls that seemed to stretch on forever with tree branches randomly interspersed within the path they created. When Mary thought about it she realized that there didn't appear to be any trees around anywhere remotely close to the Labyrinth. She absently kicked at some of the dirt on the ground noticing that it was sparkly.

'Is this some sort of a riddle?' she questioned herself while bending over to pick up one of the sticks. It was covered in glitter too she noted.

"Ello," a high pitched voice called out from behind her.

She turned around quickly holding the small stick as though it were a sword in defense suddenly scared that there was some sort of squeaky-voiced minotaur in the maze with her.

'Is this the same maze or whatever as that myth?' she asked herself before cursing the fact that she had always had trouble paying attention in literature classes.

Mary had all but accepted her seemingly inevitable untimely death when she realized she didn't see anyone around. She considered that everything that has happened in the last hour might be taking its toll on her mental health. Then she heard the voice again.

"Over here," the voice called to her.

Some kind of blue caterpillar with a small red scarf was sitting on one of the stones that made up the wall. It was staring up at her expectantly. She sighed in relief and lowered her glittery makeshift weapon.

Mary had very little idea what to say to the creature but resolved to get as much information as she could this time, "Hello, do you have any idea how to solve this Labyrinth?"

"Who me?" the blue creature asked, "No, I'm just a worm."

"Oh," she replied back, not expecting that response at all.

"Why don't you come inside, have a cup of tea, and meet the Mrs.?" the worm asked in a friendly tone.

"I'm sorry I don't really have the time right now," Mary started and paused to lean against the wall behind her before falling directly through it.

She landed on her side and saw that she had accidentally stumbled into the first turn that she had seen so far. She got up and looked to the left to see if it was clear.

"Don't go that way!" the worm warned right before she walked off.

Mary looked down the path she had almost taken and bit her lip hesitated before turning back and asking, "Why not?"

"Never go that way," the worm told her in a grave voice.

"Oh, well thanks then," she told the worm before disappearing down the path to the right.

The worm sighed in disappointment and shook his head, "She should have kept on going down that way, it would have led straight to that castle."

* * *

"Really?" Sarah asked in agitation. It was a bit hard for her to accept that if she had simply ignored the worm's advice and went the other direction at the beginning she could have skipped all of the more difficult parts of her journey.

Jareth didn't look up and simply replied, "To the gates anyway."

"So anybody that chooses to go left is basically guaranteed to finish the Labyrinth in time?" she asked again with slightly more frustration evident in her voice.

"Nobody ever chooses left," one of the goblins next to her told her.

Another one nodded in agreement and added, "And nobody else has ever beat the Labyrinth."

Sarah tried not to show how shocked she was at this bit of information. To think that she had been the only one to ever regain a wished away child seemed incredibly depressing to her. Another thought suddenly occurred to her.

"How many people have run the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked softly, afraid of the answer.

The goblins started murmuring to each other before one offered up a guess, "Hundreds?"

"At least thousands!" a goblin called from the other side of the room.

Sarah palled at the thought.

"Three thousand and twelve exactly," the Goblin King corrected.

"And _none_ of them ever beat the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

"One of them did," he replied glancing at her while smirking teasingly.

Sarah remained quiet for a moment thinking of all the people who wished away children and regretted it. It was dizzying. She sat down on the floor next to the throne where she could still see the crystal and took a calming breath before working up the courage to ask one more question.

"You said that you don't usually take anything but children so why are you making an exception for me?" Sarah asked after a long pause.

The goblins around her started snickering.

"Sarah I thought that was obvious," Jareth told her in a condescending tone, "You're going to be my queen."

* * *

A/N: Good chapter? Yes, no, maybe? Leave a review, it makes me write faster. I am also accepting requests at this time. I just want to say that I really, really, really wanted to make a joke about the wall in the Labyrinth being just like platform 9 and 3/4 from Harry Potter but I just couldn't find any way to fit it in without it seeming awkward and forced so there's that.

Lastly, if you like this then check out some of my other stories, I write for a lot of different fandoms so you'll probably be able to find something you like.


	4. The Third Hour

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has anything to do with Labyrinth except, of course, a DVD copy of this wonderful movie. Also 2 fushigis.

A/N: Alright alright, so I missed the deadline by like half an hour. What are you guys gonna do start an angry mob? (That would actually be cool in a semi-ironic way if you guys cared enough to try to run me out of town just because you want faster updates though.)

Also I'm kind of unsure about the Jareth and Sarah half of this chapter. Tell me what you think.

* * *

Mary looked down the corridor. It looked suspiciously similar to the last one she had chosen a few moments ago. Each turn she took seemed to lead back around to the same spot but at the same time each direction she choose seemed to take longer to walk than the last. She sighed and stopped walking for a moment to think up some sort of strategy.

'I could leave something behind at the next turn I take so I don't take it again,' she thought to herself.

She looked down at her already fairly sparse outfit. She already knew she had nothing in her pockets. All she was wearing was a tank top, sandals, and shorts.

She made an irritated noise before muttering to herself, "If I had known any of this was going to happen I would have brought supplies or at least worn sneakers."

She started walking again, this time turning around instead of going forwards like she had done every time up until this point. Eventually she came upon an unfamiliar crossroads.

'None of this makes any sense,' she thought to herself, 'stupid magical fairy-tale trials.'

She remembered that the worm had earlier warned her never to go left so she walked down to the right instead. She walked a little faster than before, now confident that she was going the right way. Mary recalled something that Sarah used to say a lot and laughed to herself.

She decided it might brighten her spirits, "Well, come on feet."

* * *

"Now doesn't that sound familiar?" Jareth asked Sarah while grinning at her and exposing his slightly sharper than usual teeth.

Sarah pointedly refused to meet his gaze and gave no response. She continued staring at the crystal instead keeping a carefully measured expression plastered on her face, something in between boredom and poise. Jareth's smirk was gone replaced with a colder expression.

"Everyone out!" he demanded.

The goblins jumped in surprise but quickly began shuffling out of the room with a few chickens in tow. They knew that it's best not to question the moods their king gets into.

"Is there something you would like to say to me, Sarah?" Jareth asked while making the crystal vanish and crossing his arms.

Sarah gathered her courage and looked up defiantly, "I'm not going to be your queen."

Instead of sending her to an oubliette or some other punishment he surprised her turning his head back and laughing.

"It's exactly that kind of attitude that would make you the perfect queen, Sarah," Jareth told her.

She scowled but responded, "What sort of attitude would that be?"

Jareth started walking towards her but she refused to show any fear. Instead she stood up to stare at him willfully. He got so close that she had to crane her neck and she could practically feel his breath on her face but she refused to show any hint of weakness.

"Strong," Jareth told her with his voice just above a whisper as one of his gloved hand reached up to lightly caress the side of her face.

She hadn't expected a compliment or the gentleness he was exhibiting but knew that despite the calm temperament he had now this was still a dangerous game that she was playing.

"And here I thought that you would be more interested in another thing to control," she fired back quickly.

He smirked smugly, "Who says that I wouldn't be in control of you?"

Her eyes widened slightly before she could help it but she raised one eyebrow in question and hoped that he hadn't noticed. However, the look that he was giving her led her to believe that he had.

He answered her silent question, "After all this time, finally having you under my power will only make it all the sweeter."

"Perhaps even more so than if you had accepted my offer in the first place," he told her his voice gradually getting louder as she began backing away from him.

She cursed her momentary weakness. She was unsure whether she was unable to stand her ground against him when the odds where so badly stacked against her or whether she was just unconsciously unwilling to play the lead heroine in a story that ended with the villain winning. Either way, it served to do nothing but amuse the Goblin King further. She knew that he probably thought her actions meant that she was starting to lose hope that her friend would solve the Labyrinth.

'A wise person knows how to choose their battles,' she reminded herself inwardly in an attempt to strengthen her resolve.

* * *

A/N: Ok, I have a couple things.

Here's some things: The, "never go that way" line the worm used from the movie I kind of took it to mean that in the Labyrinth it would almost always (if not always) be better to go left, because he's a liar. What a polite jerk that worm, was am I right?

Also, remember the line, "Sometimes the way forward is the way back" that the wise man said when he talked to Sarah?

I have this head-canon that everything the wise man say is actually helpful, just not to the person he's talking to which is why that when Mary started going back it led to the next part of the Labyrinth.

Lastly, do you guys want more evil Jareth or more sympathetic Jareth because right now I could go either way. Tell me in a review.


	5. The Fourth Hour

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except myself and that's ok . . . I guess.

A/N: Alright this actually seems to be one of my most popular stories at the moment. I'm getting favorites and story alerts and reviews faster than I ever have before. I'm kind of wondering if that's because I'm updating it regularly? Is it because its actually serious for once? I don't know, I'm not used to doing things right.

* * *

Mary looked behind her again. She was sure of it now. There was definitely something following her. She had first suspected this when she heard what she had thought at the time were her own footsteps echoing within the walls. She had started thinking to herself that there shouldn't be an echo in this type of space and wondered if it was some magic effect that was suppose to make her jumpy and nervous. Then when she had first decided to try a different direction and turn around she caught the slightest hint of long black hair disappear into the wall. Mary had no idea what she was suppose to do about her unwelcome tag-along so she ignored it for the moment.

She thought about how it seemed to disappear into the walls and tried running her hand along the stone to feel for anymore invisible openings. The rock was rough and it hurt her hand a bit whenever she put a just slightly too much pressure on it. Occasionally she would glance back to see where the thing that was following her was. It appeared to be getting closer. Mary picked up her pace slightly.

"Mary, is that you?" a familiar voice called out to her from behind.

She stoped short and spun around to face her before asking back, "Sarah, is it really you?"

She then looked closer at the thing that was standing, arms outstretched and grinning at her. Whatever it was it wasn't Sarah. It had her hair and her clothes. It even had the same features but its smile wasn't right. It wasn't even really a smile, it looked like someone was holding the ends of her lips up to fake a smile. It looked like it should be painful to do that with a human face.

"I know you didn't mean to wish me away, I forgive you," the impostor cried too joyfully.

Mary took a step back without turning around.

The creature smiled wider, exposing yellowish fanged teeth and it asked, "You won't leave me here, will you?"

Mary turned and ran without another word still dragging her hand across the stone hoping for an unseen exit.

"I don't want you to leave me!" the doppelganger screamed at her before running after Mary.

Mary ran down the corridor faster than she had ever ran in her life. At the very end she saw something that looked like it might be a door and prayed she would make it. She put out the hand that she had been holding against the wall out to reach for the door handle. She realized it was bleeding but focused on the situation at hand.

"No!" the monster screamed in an inhuman cry of anger and misery.

Mary practically ran into the door before pulling it open. As she slipped through the doorway she felt the slightest pull at her shirt collar.

After slamming the door shut and collapsing against it to catch her breath she reached to feel her neck and discovered some sort of black gunk that, unsurprisingly, had glitter in it. After deciding that it was most likely harmless and if it wasn't that there was nothing she could do about it now she took a look around the room that she was in.

* * *

Jareth hadn't called the goblins back into the throne room while watching the latest challenge and Sarah had eventually let her curiosity get the better of her and went back to where Jareth was sitting with a crystal in hand. She scowled at the crystal as her terrified friend ran from her doppelganger.

"What even is that?" Sarah asked Jareth with as much venom in her voice as she could muster in an attempt to show her displeasure.

Jareth looked at her with a cocky grin, "Worried about your little friend yet Sarah?"

"I've been worried about her since you showed up Jareth, that's what people do when they actually care about someone," Sarah told him while staring him down.

He responded with another infuriating smile, "I think that might be the first time you actually used my name."

She scowled at him and in a slightly more agitated voice asked, "Do you even understand what I mean?"

Jareth once again ignored what she was saying in favor of simply enjoying the company of his future bride and queen. He reached over to her inwardly unhappy at the slight flinch at his touch. He tilted her face towards his and leaned closer to her.

"You know, I'm almost led to believe that you think me incapable of caring," he told her gently.

Sarah was a bit caught off-guard by his closeness but managed to reply, "Well you've led me to believe that you're incapable of caring about anything but your own games."

Jareth's expression didn't change at her remark.

"Allow me to convince you otherwise then," he told her before moving them both with inhuman speed so that they were standing pressed against each other with Sarah in his arms.

"What are you-?" Sarah began to ask before he pressed his lips against hers.

* * *

A/N: Ok, yeah I'm a few minutes late again but hey I'm trying alright? You have no idea how insanely tired I am right now. Or maybe you do, I don't know you could be a vampire or a ghost or something. (Do either of those sleep?) Anyway, the doppelganger from this chapter is basically a creepy copy of the wished away kid from anybody's session in the Labyrinth and Jareth only sends the people that he wants to fail down towards it. (Yes, I believe he has way more control over each run than the movie let's on.) And to finally address the elephant in the room, how does everybody like where Jareth is going with this? *Suggestive eyebrow waggle.*


	6. The Fifth Hour

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or its characters but hey, no writer is perfect, they become perfect when you learn to accept them for who they are. (Welcome to Night Vale reference which I also don't own.)

A/N: I just got back from the fair and realized that its Friday! Be glad I remembered, I almost just went to bed. Also this is the first time in a while that I actually finished a chapter on Friday . . . and then I remembered that I still had to proofread it and upload it, narrowly missing my deadline by about five minutes. That made me sad but hey, I've got to learn to stop procrastinating.

* * *

The room Mary was in had no visible doors other than the one she had come through and appeared to only have books stacked all along the walls. Upon closer inspection she realized that the walls, if there were any, were completely obstructed by the books and that the closer to the ground they were the older and more worn they looked.

Mary looked closer at the spine of one of the books but couldn't make out any title. She was hesitant to touch them but decided that it was her only option at the moment. She took one of the newer looking books from the top of the stack and flipped to the first page.

After skimming through the first few pages she realized that it was a story about another person who ran the Labyrinth before her. Mary put the book back and began looking to see if she could find one with her in it. During her search she noticed that one of the books on the top shelf had a title. It simply said, "The Labyrinth."

Mary reached up to grab it and noted that it was much heavier than the other book she had grabbed. After reading it for a few moments she realized that it was Sarah who ran the Labyrinth in this book. Without putting the book back she took the one next to it to find that it was about her. She flipped forwards in the book to find out if she would actually be able to beat the Labyrinth but found that everything past the middle of the book was blank. She then noticed that the last page with words was writing itself. She frowned at the book.

'That isn't very helpful at all,' she thought to herself while watching those words being written into her story shortly after she thought them.

She put her book back on the shelf and looked at Sarah's again.

'If she ran the Labyrinth before maybe she beat it too," Mary thought to herself while skipping to the end of the book.

As she read the ending she started to feel more nervous. From how it was written it seems like Sarah's victory was an outlier among the runners. She also attempted to memorize the line that seemed to defeat the Goblin King in the end. After about a minute of trying she decided it would be smarter to bring the book with her so she wouldn't forget or if she did she would be able to reread it.

Mary began looking around the room for some sort of idea on how to get out. She noticed a bit of sunlight coming from a crack in the ceiling. She reached up to find that it was fairly breakable and pushed her hand through. After feeling around for a moment she determined that the material around the hole she had just made seemed sturdy enough to support her weight as far as she could tell so she hoisted herself up and out after tossing the book through first.

* * *

After the sudden kiss Jareth had stolen Sarah had been shocked into silence. She really had no idea how to react to it. After a while she decided that she should probably be anger or at the very least wary of the Goblin King. A part of her liked it. She refused to admit that part of her even existed.

The Goblin King was currently perched in a window staring out at the Labyrinth. Sarah watched him for a long time before deciding to approach him.

As she walked up to him he turned to talk to her, "You know usually I make an appearance right about now if a runner is doing well."

"I thought you did that a bit earlier," Sarah said while thinking back to her session in the Labyrinth.

Jareth nodded and said simply, "I had to see you earlier."

"Is Mary doing well?" Sarah asked.

Jareth shook his head, "She's far off the usual path and has gotten distracted too easily."

Sarah frowned as Jareth moved to get up.

"I'm going to show you around the castle," Jareth declared suddenly.

Sarah was once again caught off guard, "Why?"

"Well, you'll be living here with me forever once your friend fails to complete the Labyrinth," Jareth smirked at her and continued, "You should at least know your way around."

Sarah was about to remark about how Mary still had a chance but Jareth began walking towards the door and impatiently asked, "Are you just going to stand there or are you coming?"

Biting back a snide comment she followed him out into the hallway.

* * *

A/N: OK, SO: I realized that even if Mary got to the end of the Labyrinth she wouldn't know the words soooo, I had to give her some sort of chance. By the way I don't have a beta reader so if you notice any grammatical mistakes outside the author notes it would be really great if you could point it out so I could fix them. And along those same lines if you notice any inconsistencies or something that doesn't work in the established universe, point that out, I'm not perfect sometimes I forget stuff. Now go on, leave some reviews.


	7. The Sixth Hour

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth . . . not even a little.

A/N: Finally! I actually posted the chapter FRIDAY night! Are you guys all proud of me? Your little fanfiction writer is all grown up and updating regularly like a boss!

* * *

After Mary pulled herself through the hole she had made in the ceiling of the book room she quickly picked up the book again, clutching it tightly. After all the movies she's seen she was feeling a little paranoid about something happening to the book suddenly. Once she gathered herself she stood up and looked around more closely at her surroundings.

She was standing in the middle of a glittering forest. The trees, plants, and rocks looked fairly normal besides the strange shine that they all had. Other than that, there was a wall to her right that seemed to go higher than she could see. To her left there was a beaten down path through the brush. Ahead of her was a small stream that seemed fairly shallow and slow. Behind her was only more woods and to her confusion the hole that she had previously climbed through was gone.

After a moment of contemplation she decided to go forwards to the stream. She took her shoes off quickly and took one cautious step into the water, pleasantly surprised to find that it was nice and warm. Feeling somewhat more reassured she took another step but faster this time and with more confidence.

Just as she was about to take a third step into the water she felt a slimy hand snake around her ankle.

"Oh God!" Mary screamed jumping back onto the bank, landing painfully on her side.

"Oh! I'm sorry," a female voice called from the water.

Mary looked back to the stream to see what looked like a human but with gills and multicolored horns. The creature had pulled themselves to rest, still in the water, on a rock as close to the shore as possible.

Mary frowned, "Its ok I guess but why did you grab me?"

"I was just playing," she said while pouting.

Mary tried to smile in reassurance, "I can't really play right now I need to get to the castle."

The girl was looking at her with interest so Mary continued, "You wouldn't happen to know how to get there would you?"

The river-creature thoughtfully tapped her rock before responding, "All I know is people who try to climb that wall usually come falling back down an hour or two later."

Mary turned back around to look at the wall and nervously adjusted her shirt collar.

"I would go that way if I were you," she told Mary while pointing to the path.

"Yeah I'll go that way," Mary agreed but then added, "By the way, what are you exactly?"

"I don't know," she replied with a dull shrug.

Mary stammered, "What's your name then?"

"I don't know," she replied with another equally disinterested shrug.

Mary didn't know how to responded so instead she just bid her farewell and continued into the forest on the path.

* * *

"This is the dining hall for the goblins," Jareth told Sarah while pointing to a large old oak door.

He made no move to open it and Sarah didn't blame him. She could only imagine what the inside of that room looked like. After a short pause they moved on down the hallway.

Sarah had been debating asking a question that had nagged her in the back of her mind since her first trip to the Underground. She had almost asked him twice during this little tour he was giving her but both times had thought better of it.

He came to a stop again in front of the most ornate door that she had seen on her tour so far. It had silver vines running along the edges of the wood snaking around the door in symmetrical patterns.

"This is going to be our bedroom," He said with a smirk that dared her to disagree while he opened the door for her to see.

She glanced into the room but refused to look any closer and instead began another tense staring contest with the Goblin King.

Jareth leaned against the door and then said in the most serious voice she had ever heard from him, "You obviously have a question so go ahead and ask it."

Sarah frowned just slightly more than she had been already. She didn't like to think that he really could read her so well.

He simply stood his ground, leaning against the door frame until Sarah sighed and admitted, "Alright, there has been one thing I've been wondering about since I came to the Labyrinth the first time."

Jareth raised one eyebrow in question and Sarah noticed he was fighting the urge to smirk.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Why does basically everything in the Labyrinth sparkle?"

Jareth looked genuinely caught off guard for a moment before he burst out laughing.

Sarah took a step back and waited to see what he was going to say.

"Really Sarah, after all these years that is the only question you have?" Jareth asked still smiling.

Sarah crossed her arms in a way similar to how he had been doing, "It's the only one I feel like asking."

Jareth smiled at her and answered simply, "It's very easy to conjure that sort of dust, I tend to do that when I get bored."

It was Sarah's turn to quirk an eyebrow in question.

* * *

A/N: Yes finally, back to the actual plot! The glitter. But for real, I remember reading somewhere that someone involved with the set said that Jareth was the one who put the glitter or whatever on everything because he get's bored. And don't worry, this will actually advance the plot in the next chapter.

Also, the water that the sea-troll-waternymph-merwhatever lived in makes you forget things. That's why she didn't tell Mary to go through the stream.


End file.
